


A Tense Reunion

by peskylilcritter



Series: Journey to Tattooine AU [10]
Category: Star Wars - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Reunions
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-10-04
Packaged: 2018-08-19 13:02:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,231
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8209484
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peskylilcritter/pseuds/peskylilcritter
Summary: Obi-Wan doesn't often get visitors who aren't Luke, and this one is wholly unexpected.





	

**Author's Note:**

> this underwent quite a few changes bc for once, i asked someone to beta for me. so, thanks meabhair, for helping me improve this fic.

The knock on the door is unexpected but Luke doesn't always announce his visits.

Obi-Wan is busy trying to fix the temperature control, on the fritz for the third time this month so he shouts, “The door is open.”

There are only three people who ever visit him and only one who does so with any regularity. But these footsteps sound wrong. Obi-Wan extracts himself from the temperature controls, frowning. “Luke? Is that you?”

The being in the doorway is much taller than Luke, and likely older too. Obi-Wan can't see their features against the sunlight. And then his visitor speaks.

“I don't know who Luke is but I'm not him.”

Obi-Wan is on his feet in an instant, already reaching for his lightsaber. “How did you find me?” The lightsaber flies off one of the bookshelves and smacks into his hand. It stings a bit; he hadn’t meant to pull it that hard.

The man shrugs. “Guy in a bar.” He takes a step toward Obi-Wan, enough that he can see the man’s face.

He swallows, hard. “The last time we spoke you tried to kill me not ten minutes later. Forgive me if I’m not exactly happy to see you.”

Cody’s face twists. “Doesn’t surprise me, General. Would it help if I tell you I didn’t want to kill you?”

“Not really. You tried anyway, and at the time I counted myself lucky to have survived,” Obi-Wan tells him, still gripping his lightsaber tightly. He can’t make himself relax his grip but he doesn’t light the blade either.

“You no longer count yourself lucky, sir?”

“Sometimes. Now back to my question, and be thorough this time. How did you find me?”

“Completely by accident, sir. I was looking for work, hanging around one of the cantinas in Mos Eisley and heard someone mention your name. I wasn’t sure it was you until they called you a wizard.” Cody looks thoughtful. “Nobody talks about Jedi anymore but wizards. What are the chances of there being a wizard named Kenobi that isn’t you?”

“Did you tell anyone else that I’m here?”

“No, sir. Anyway, who would I tell?”

“Whoever your commanding officer is, maybe? I know the Empire is still looking for the surviving Jedi.” It takes effort to keep his breathing even. He needs- Time. An escape plan. He needs to keep Luke safe, by any means.

“Oh,” Cody says, and then he laughs. “I defected. I left the Imperial Army more than ten years ago. If I have anything like a commanding officer, it’s you, General.”

Obi-Wan resists the urge to press his fingers to his temples. “Stop. Don’t call me that. I’m no General. I’m just Ben.”

He feels like he’s breaking apart again.

***

The hand that holds Kenobi’s lightsaber is steady but Cody can see the effort that requires, and his left hand is trembling.

Cody takes two steps more away from the door, careful to keep his hands where he’s sure Kenobi can see them.

“Sir,” he starts, corrects himself when Kenobi’s face twists with pain. (Cody knows what his General looks like when he’s in pain. And if he’s showing it this plainly it must be extreme.) “Ben. I just wanted- I’m not going to interfere in your life if you don’t want me here. I just. Wanted to see how- I wanted to know if it was really you.” He coughs to hide the way his voice feels like it’s going to crack. “I wanted to see if you really made it out. I’ll, uh, I’ll leave if you want.”

***

Something is wrong.

Luke knows it as surely as he knows the suns rise.

He checks on Beru and Owen first, then he hesitates.

Ben has been teaching him how to use the Force but he insists Luke only touch it under his supervision.

Something is wrong.

Luke touches the Force.

Ben is in trouble. 

***

Beru’s taken the speeder into town and anyway, Luke hasn’t figured out how to hotwire it yet.

The walk to Ben’s house is long and Luke is lucky that it’s a few hours after noon. Any earlier and he’d get sunsick.

Ten minutes after he leaves the feeling of wrongness increases sharply. Luke starts running.

***

There’s too much; in his head, in his heart. He can’t think for all the memories, all the emotions.

There is no emotion, there is peace.

It doesn’t help much.

His hand hurts. After a moment of confusion he remembers that he’s still holding his lightsaber. He relaxes his grip a little and the ache eases.

Cody is here. Here and insisting he doesn’t want to kill Obi-Wan.

“I don’t think I can trust your word on anything right now,” he finally says, aware that Cody has been waiting for him to speak for at least five minutes.

Cody tenses, a familiar movement. He wants to say something he knows is inappropriate in some way. Once, it meant that he disapproved of Obi-Wan putting his own life in danger. “That’s really not a surprise. Is there anything I can do?” He hesitates, looking away. “Or would you like me to leave?”

Does he? Obi-Wan has no idea what he wants. That’s a lie. He wants Cody to never have found him. He wants Anakin back. The things Obi-Wan truly wants are impossible. But for now…

“No,” he says, slowly. “We have much to talk about. Stay. For dinner at least.” He’ll need to excuse himself at some point to regain his footing but he’s confident that after a few minutes alone he can manage dinner with Cody.

Cody nods. “Of course.”

Obi-Wan can hear the ‘sir’ he bites back anyway, and it burns.

***

Luke is only a few minutes away from Ben’s house when the wrongness dials down a bit. He doesn’t slow down; Ben’s still not safe.

***

Kenobi offers him a seat and water, then goes outside to check on the vaporators. Cody takes the opportunity the check the place out a bit.

He doesn’t get up - no need to risk whatever trust Kenobi’s willing to give him - but there’s plenty to see even so. Kenobi has more books than Cody’s seen in his entire life.

The hut really is as small as it looked from the outside but it’s remarkably comfortable.

Cody’s debating getting up after all, to find the fresher, when Kenobi comes back inside. A kid follows him, staring mutinously at the floor.

“- to do that when I’m not there, Luke. You could do yourself serious harm,” Kenobi is saying as he opens the door.

“I know, Ben. I’m sorry,” the kid - Luke - tells the floor.

Kenobi stops and turns to look at the kid. “Luke.” The kid looks up. He’s blond and blue-eyed, lightly tanned. Cody can’t tell how old he is. “Promise me you won’t do that again.”

The kid’s eyebrows draw together in a frown. “But Ben, I had to!”

“Oh, really?” Kenobi says, disbelieving. “And why’s that?” Something about his expression seems really familiar to Cody.

“Yes,” the kid insists. “You were in trouble. I could feel it.” The kids sort of squints. Cody’s pretty sure that’s not the effect the kid was going for. “It still feels like you’re in trouble. Ben, what’s wrong?”

Kenobi’s expression softens, grows tender. “I’m not in trouble, Luke. I was just…” Kenobi meets Cody’s eyes. “I was just surprised.”


End file.
